Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
May 17, 1993
(Phone: 202 /358-1547)
Jim Sahli/David Drachlis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
( Phone: 205 / 544-0034 )
RELEASE: 93-88
NASA JOINS FORCES WITH INDUSTRY IN AIDS RESEARCH
NASA and American Bio-Technologies Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.,
have teamed together in an attempt to contribute to a better
understanding of a world public health problem -- Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Under an agreement signed April 26,
each organization will bring its own unique capabilities to a
comprehensive research effort.
"This endeavor represents a massive and unprecedented
approach to structure-oriented AIDS research," said Simon
McKenzie, American Bio-Technologies President.
The goal is to use advanced x-ray crystallography technology
and expertise developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala., to advance fundamental knowledge of Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS, to develop new and
promising therapeutic approaches for HIV and AIDS and to develop
superior biological materials for vaccine development and HIV
detection.
The structural biology research group at the Marshall center
will bring new emerging technology in high-brilliance x-ray
generators, access to the microgravity environment aboard the
Space Shuttle and novel crystallization approaches to bear on the
research effort.
American Bio-Technologies, the major world supplier of
recombinant (synthetic) HIV proteins, will provide researchers at
Marshall with all proteins of HIV-1 and related retroviruses.
"Normally, a research group is considered very fortunate to
have access to a single protein from HIV-1 for crystallographic
purposes," explained Dr. Daniel Carter, Chief of the Biophysics
Branch of Marshall's Space Science Laboratory. "We will have
access to quantities of all of them."
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"We will use our unique capabilities to grow crystals of the
proteins and then use our analytical and computer-based
technologies to attempt to determine the accurate
three-dimensional structures of the biological molecules. Our
group previously determined the first structure of a human
antibody which recognizes the AIDS virus, published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last summer,"
explained Carter.
Knowledge of the structures of molecules provides critical
insights into molecular function. Such insights can speed the
design of vaccines, pharmaceuticals or inhibitory agents to
prevent or cure diseases, according to the National Institutes of
Health. The organization believes that structural biology is the
linchpin in U.S. biotechnology research.
"Critical to the success of such endeavors is the production
of relatively large, high-quality single crystals of the proteins
of interest," explained Carter. "Consequently, large and
expensive quantities of recombinant protein are required for each
targeted structure. American Bio-Technologies is uniquely
positioned to support this strategy."
American Bio-Technologies and NASA research groups are
pursuing what is one of the greatest research problems of our time
with a true sense of urgency and great purpose, according to
Carter.
"Today, only two structures of the approximately 20 proteins
of HIV-1 have been determined and none from the related viruses
HIV-2, HTLV-1, HTLV-II and SIV, have been determined," McKenzie
added.
If successful, determination of the atomic structures of HIV
and HIV-related retroviruses could provide key insights into the
critical function of many of the virus components essential to the
development of new vaccines, therapies and diagnostics.
Both NASA and American Bio-Technologies intend to publish the
results of their efforts under this agreement.
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